A proposal that would limit public hearings on certain property rezonings is set to be withdrawn from Jacksonville City Council consideration after receiving community opposition.
Council member Rory Diamond introduced Ordinance 2026-0367, which would allow the city’s Planning Department to grant applications for administrative zoning deviations without a currently required public hearing and with eased requirements for approval.
After initially saying he would defer the legislation for at least two months, Diamond said June 1 he would request to withdraw it. In a text message, he said the legislation was a “good bill” but that it wasn’t “worth the fight when there are other priorities.”
Diamond said his intent with the ordinance was to help address Jacksonville’s need for affordable housing by speeding up approvals for infill residential projects.
It met with criticism from community members, the chair of the Jacksonville Planning Commission and the city administration, who said it would reduce residents’ access to the process.
Administrative deviations allow for changes to individual property requirements without a full rezoning or land use change. Deviations can apply to lot sizes, requirements for parking spaces, landscaping and structure height.
Under Jacksonville’s code, the city’s zoning administrator reviews and can grant applications for administrative deviations. That decision comes after a required informal public hearing, for which neighbors within 350 feet of the applicable property are notified.
Any person who believes they are adversely affected by the zoning administrator’s decision can appeal the decision to the Planning Commission, an appointed body. After a more formal public hearing before the commission, that body determines whether the administrative deviation criteria were properly considered and applied by the zoning administrator to the facts presented.
If the commission determines the criteria were not properly applied, the commission can remand the matter to the zoning administrator for further review. Final decisions by the commission or the zoning administrator may be challenged further under Florida state law, but cannot be appealed to Council.
Diamond’s bill would have trimmed those processes and moved the zoning administrator’s responsibilities to the Planning Department. Additionally, administrative deviations would scale back public notice requirements.
Current ordinance code requires that notices of applications be mailed at least 14 days in advance of the first scheduled hearing to all owners of real property within 350 feet of the boundaries of the property involved in the application, and to all neighborhood organizations qualified to receive notice.
Diamond’s bill would alter those requirements so that all neighbors within 300 feet of the applicant would be mailed a summary of the administrative deviation requested. That notice would provide directions on how to view the full application and where objections could be sent.
From that point, the Planning Department would have 30 days to approve or deny the application. Any failure to provide a decision within 30 days would result in an automatic approval.
With the ordinance, Diamond also aimed to alter how the commission would vote on appeals. The commission, not the zoning administrator, would have final say on appeals. Additionally, instead of considering if the zoning administrator made any errors in their decision, the commission would consider the appeal de novo, applying all information anew.
Additionally, the commission’s decision could be appealed to Council by any party adversely affected. Appeal fees for administrative deviations are listed at $650 on the city’s website.
Critics said the ordinance would curb residents’ ability to provide input on the deviations.
“The community having an opportunity to participate in public hearings for matters that affect their property, their daily lives, anything that matters in the city of Jacksonville is extremely important,” commission Chair Moné Holder said when the legislation was introduced.
“It’s their right. It’s a fundamental part of democracy. Removing that part of the access is something that is concerning to me.”
“We oppose this bill both in concept and execution. It would eliminate the current Administrative Deviation process handled by Zoning Administrators and shift all responsibility to the Planning Department, reducing transparency and public involvement,” a city spokesperson wrote in a statement when the legislation was introduced.
“It also weakens existing design‑standard safeguards by allowing approvals based on meeting only one of several criteria. The bill further risks automatic approval of incomplete or problematic applications if the Planning Department cannot meet a 30‑day deadline, while simultaneously overburdening the department with no additional resources. Ultimately, limiting public input is likely to push more disputes to City Council and LUZ, lengthening meetings, increasing workload, and frustrating citizens.”
Additionally, the bill would have relaxed requirements for the department to grant administrative deviations. While current ordinance code requires that the zoning administrator reports positive findings on six issues to recommend approval, Diamond’s bill would require that the Planning Department make a positive finding on one of the six requirements to grant approval.
Those requirements include the following:
• There are practical or economic difficulties in carrying out the strict letter of the zoning regulation.
• The request is not based exclusively upon a desire to reduce the cost of developing the site, but would accomplish some result that is in the public interest.
• The proposed deviation will not substantially diminish property values in, nor alter the essential character of, the area surrounding the site and will not substantially interfere with or injure the rights of others whose property would be affected by the deviation.
• The proposed deviation will not be detrimental to the public health, safety or welfare, result in additional public expense, the creation of nuisances, or conflict with any other applicable law.
• The proposed deviation has been recommended by a City landscape architect, if the deviation is to reduce required landscaping.
• The effect of the proposed deviation is in harmony with the spirit and intent of the Zoning Code.
Diamond’s ordinance is set for a final vote on withdrawal during the June 9 Council meeting.